About two years ago, I met a girl I used to go to college with in a subway. We had a few stations to share together so we chat a little. She had a boyfriend and they were both working for the same company. In fact, when I met here, they just have been laid off the week before because the company was bought by another one and they were not keeping everybody.

Instead of crying and whining, they decided to listen to their destiny call and revise their whole plan of life. This is when they decided to move out west, in Calgary in order to benefit from the economic boom.

I thought of her two weeks ago when I read a paper on the economic boom in Saskatchewan. They apparently found more oil sand than in Alberta and this small province is now promised for a bright future. People are working seven days a week but a lot of them are making 6 figures income.

In the light of what I read, I decided pull out the good and the bad points of moving out another province/country in order to find a better life. So today I’m going with the good sides:

The hope of getting a better job

For people moving far away from their home, there must be an economic advantage. Since we are living in a beautiful country, I guess the economic factor must be pretty important. I remember my uncle moving to Vancouver about 15 years ago since there was not much job in finance in Montreal back then. Since my uncle and my aunt moved, they found pretty good job and the benefit from the housing boom to create an interesting nest egg.

When moving toward a city where there is a lot of job it will not only be easy to find a job but also to increase your income. You might have to work more at the beginning is there is a major job shortage but in the end, the economic aspect is definitely a plus.

Find out about other nice place to live

While moving to Calgary doesn’t seem that appealing to me, moving to British Columbia or California would definitely be interesting. There are so many cool places to live that we don’t know about. If you do proper research before moving, you definitely be able to find a nice place to live.

Another good point is that you have the possibility to move to a better climate. For example, the sun and the heat of California would surely help me forget about Montreal -20 degrees and 20 foot of snow during winter!

Make new friends

Some people decide to accept 2-3 years contract and they go back to their former city after. This would allow you to make new connections and friends while you are elsewhere. It is fun to communicate with people around the world that live different things. It also make a good and cheap place to visit for vacation!

Start over

Sometimes your life is just a mess and you absolutely need to make a fresh start. Moving in another city would definitely force you to start anew. It is like you have never existed in this new place, it is now up to you to put things in order and move forward!

Improve your resume

Showing that you have been working in a different province or country would surely prove flexibility, adaptability and autonomy to your future employers. I remember seeing the interest in my employer eyes when I explained them my experience in a student exchange program in Europe. Employers love to see people that can think outside the box and have a different kind of experience.

Think outside the box

The more you move in life, the more open minded you become. I have met a few people working in Dubai right now and they definitely don’t have the same thinking they used to. They show a different view of life based on their own experience. If you live your whole life in your neighbourhood, you will not necessarily be aware of what is going on out there.

I would be curious to know if anybody moved in another city/province/country in order to find a better job. It would be nice to share your experience.

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Comments

Thanks for the nice post! It’s true-to-life as just the same story happened to me some years ago. While travelling around Europe, in Italy I met an Italian guy, very hansome, smart, sociable and easy-going. He fell in love with me as well as I with him. MMmmmm it was a wonderful time being together. But soon I had to leave Italy for home (US). He was so sad becouse of it, tried to stay me there, but in vain I should go back home becouse of the work. After some time he visited my place but he had some problems to find a job here (I live in a small town) though he had a perfect resume (CV), moreover he is a sportsman (a champion of swimming). So, maybe he was daunted by difficulties, changes in his life, I don’t know… He simply stopped to communicate after some time. It was (and it IS) a real tragedy to realize that we wouldn’t be together…

I’ve moved to a total of four different cities in three provinces (SK, AB, BC). Each move was for a job that paid better or offered me a better quality of life. I should point out I only moved AFTER I had the new job. I did not move to try and find one. That in my mind is a stupid way to go about it.

Moving can be good for you depending on how you adjust to new situations. I spend most of my childhood moving around so I tend to adjust very quickly regardless of where I am. Also you have to consider what you are looking to gain in the move. If you don’t think you are going to be happier and wealthier from the move I won’t bother doing it. I’ve seen lots of people move with little planning or ideas on what they want to only find themselves unhappy in the end.

Melissa, I suggest you move to a bigger city and contact your Italian stallion again 😉

CD; If you keep moving like this, in 10 years we’ll be meeting in Montreal 😉
I moved a lot when I was a kid too. Since I am living with my wife, we moved 4 times already (we have been living together for 8 years 😉 ).